It's the Vinyl Countdown: #3 "A Dream is All We Know" by The Lemon Twigs
Counting down my five favorite records released in 2024
The harmony is coming from inside the house.
It is in the walls, the heating ducts, the tile, the carpet. It swirls around the eaves and lands delicately upon the shell of your ear, whispering a sweet contentment chord aimed directly at your heart.
These are the happiness vibes you seek.
This is the place.
These are your friends, your confidants, your dream stenographers.
The Lemon Twigs.
The sound of voices, up and down and all around together, and yours mixed in there with them. In your house. There you are, wiping down a countertop, wiggling your hips, and singing of church bells chiming on riverside. Making coffee to go with your breakfast bagel. Kicking back on the couch and staring at the ceiling as the music plays.
Singing. Harmonizing. Joining in.
They don’t ask you to do that in the liner notes, but this is music that begs for it. Begs for you to add your flavor. Begs for you to sing.
And you will sing. You won’t be able to stop yourself. You will doo-dee-doo and try find your spot in the threaded staff of the music swirling around you in the room. You will seek that harmony. You will seek your position in this play, your part in this tune, your final choice of favorite song on this album.
Spoiler alert: It’s “My Golden Years.”
Is it wrong to want a vibe shift? Is it wrong to yearn to live with music that you’ve never met but feel like you’ve known forever, even in that first second you encounter it?
No.
No, it isn’t.
Wrap yourself in its open arms. Feel its familiar embrace. Snuggle in the fiber and knit of this musical, harmonic sweater of bliss.
This is wise music. New, but old in its bones. Well spun, but freshly dyed. It has existed forever, even though it was only just created.
Before we dive into this record, let me just get this out of the way: The Lemon Twigs don’t hide their influences. They cannot hide them. It’s impossible. Pick a song.
“Well,” you’ll say. “There’s the Beach Boys. There’s The Beatles. Monkees. Well, that’s RAM-era Paul McCartney. Maybe even Wings?”
So many influences. Way more than these no-brainers I’ve just listed.
You’ll drive yourself insane trying to pick out the individual and more subtle threads sewn beneath the obvious ones. It’s a fun exercise. This sounds like that. And that sounds like this.
But it’s all of it and not any of it.
It’s just The Lemon Twigs making the kind of music they love, with their influence hearts embroidered firmly on their thrift store sleeves.
Their visual aesthetic is a vibe. Their music is a vibe. The vibe itself is a vibe.
In short, this is a record set to become a whimsical conductor of your mood. The zone it will put you in is joyous, even though the subject matter—on Side B in particular—often takes on a more somber tone.
Musically, it soars.
The Lemon Twigs “A Dream is all we Know” hits all the harmonic areas of my love zone.
That sounds weird.
If nostalgia were a house band, it’d be The Lemon Twigs.
That sounds bad!
If happy wears underpants, there’s a picture of The Lemon Twigs on them.
That sounds even worse!
I’m bad at this. I have no harmonic bones in my body by which to describe my reaction to this music in any level-headed and pleasing way. Seriously, you should hear me singing along to this—or you shouldn’t, I’ll save you from my slightly off-key efforts. Thank me later.
This music pleases me greatly. There. Much clearer. Now layer a three-part harmony on top of that.
It pleases me greatly and I don’t know if it’s because I grew up as a Beatles kid who yearns for that feeling of being caught up in the solid foundation of catchy hooks and voices working together to create magic.
Are you saying it’s old-head music, Janeen?
Maybe. I dunno.
I don’t know what it is, exactly.
It’s endearing. It’s a belly rub. It’s an ear tweak. Its eyes meeting across a low-lit table. It’s sitting by a fire playing guitar. It’s running through the dunes barefoot with a light-leak filter applied to the footage.
It feels like music that’s grown up with you. Like it’s been with you forever. Like it was with you on sleepovers, and in study halls, and at the mall. Like it was with in the car on that long drive home from college. Like it was the passenger, the driver, the fuel station attendant that sold you the gum and jerky the scratch ticket. The everyday and mundane, co-existing in harmonic bliss.
*Clears throat*
Hey, Editor. What’s a faster way to say that?
“It’s hooks out the wazoo and melodies on speed dial.”
Exactly. Reader, I don’t even know if you’re ready for this. Are you ready to accept joy? Will you welcome happiness into your life this day?
Open your door. It’s The Lemon Twigs a’knocking. For god’s sake—let them in.
Side A, Track 1: “My Golden Years.” As I mentioned earlier, this is my favorite song on this record. I will always bow down to any song that has a seize-the-day-and-your-life feel. This one nails the vibe. I feel like I’m using the word vibe a lot…. What can I say? I’m vibrating with the vibes of this record!
“My Golden Years” seems to be a celebration of making the most of the time you have left, regardless of where you are on life’s timeline.
Is it broadening the definition of Golden Years to encompass the young? Maybe. Your golden years could just as easily be in your 20s as your 60s. Either way, the point is: it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
The Lemon Twigs will layer these notes over each other in a joyful and exuberant noise to convince you of this.
Regret, recognize, then organize.
Thinking back on the many times I cried
What could have been if I stood up tall and tried
Don’t let these Golden Years fly by. Don’t build a house in the regret of it. It reminds me of the Mary Oliver poem, “Moments.”
There is nothing more pathetic than caution
when headlong might save a life,
even, possibly, your own.”
Goose. The bumps of. Same vibe. Different delivery.
Next up is the noodling baseline of “They Don’t Know how to Fall in Place,” a song with hooks galore. It’s pure and sumptuous joy. A bopper, with oohs and harmonies that run counter to the theme of disharmony in the lyrics. You can’t fall in place. You can’t fit in. Find your harmony!
“Church Bells” (Side A, Track 3) is another standout track. My head goes strait to The Beatles with this one (probably because there is the direct reference to the Mersey) before veering off to setting in McCartney solo-career town.
It’s a straight up pop-py love song. A boy, thinking about a girl. Plenty of do-dos in this one. Take it away, church bells. I’m singing in the kitchen. I’m moving to the living room. The church bells are chiming on riverside. Actually. That’s not church bells. Fire station next door. We have had high surf advisories this past week. Story for another day.
Anyway, not sure if the church bells signify a wedding in the future, but the separation of this person from their love is on their mind. Across the world or across the river or one town over, absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say.
This song. It’s so simple. So melodic. So innocent. I needed this today. This year. This life.
So many wonderful people
But this is the one I love
So many beautiful people
But you're who I’m thinking of
Fantastic do-do-do-dos on this one. Just saying.
Side A, Track 4: “A Dream is All I know,” features a theremin and that’s enough to make it a winner for me—at least I think it’s a theremin. Great harmonies. Dreamy song, dreamy feel. We’re still in McCartney/Wings land for this. Band on the Run era, perhaps? Thematically, this one is not pulling any punches.
A dream is all I know
Is all I've got to show for my
Being here
Brutal.
That’s a call to action if ever I’ve heard one. Get out of the dream, mate! Make it reality. It’s a message delivered with such wistful bliss, that while the sense is regret, it’s also a place I think I’d quite like to be. This is daydreamer music. Did I mention it was dreamy?
But perhaps there’s a lesson here, too?
Love isn't something you know
The more you choose it, you're bound to lose it
Leave it and let it go
Or grow
Choices baby. Grow. How? See Side A, Track 1.
To close out Side A, we’ve got Track 5 “Sweet Vibration” and Track 6 “In the Eyes of a Girl” and both are, to me, Beach Boys-y but in different ways.
Although “Sweet Vibration” sounds nothing like The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”, I think the mere mention of vibrations coupled with the sound of his voice in this one takes me straight to that zone. I’ve been mentioning vibes after vibes after vibes and here is a song that is like, oh, yeah, not just good vibes—sweet vibes.
Want some? Here’s an impossibly long section of lahlahlahs to get you going.
La la la la, la la la la la la
La la la, la la la la la la
La la la, la la la la la la
La la la, la la la la la la
Honestly, this song put me in a Central Park state of mind. Reminds me of walking through it in early springtime with the cherry blossoms coming in and the budding daffs and just that joyous feeling of a season changing that can really turn a mood around.
Nature can cleanse the soul. Can remove all bitterness. Flush out the poison.
I don’t know what he’s singing about—the end of something where he now feels free—but evidently, he is able to notice the beauty around him once more. The life. The world. Birds a singing.
Nature is healing him.
Casting out the demon in me
You are gone, I am free
I rely on nobody
Miracles all I see
Freedom!
Moving on. I’m going to come right out and say it: the closer for Side A “In the Eyes of the Girl” sounds more Beach Boys than The Beach Boys. Yeah, it’s an exaggeration. But it’s a slow dance on a sandy wooden floor. A lovely croon at the surf shack. Oooh oooh. Harmonies. Harmonies. It’s a straight down the barrel love song. Sean Ono Lennon plays bass on this one. That’s just today’s fun fact.
And on that note, let’s flip it.
While Side B loses none of the rich harmonies, it’s a definite resetting of pace. The songs themselves are still joyful, but there seems to be a darker lyrical undercurrent here. More difficult themes, perhaps? Or its just more in your face about it.
Right out of the gate, “If You and I are not Wise” (Side B, Track 1) sounds innocent enough, but hides a melancholy message beneath its lovely harmonies, sliding around in fretful sorrow like the guitar twanging and jangling along with it.
It’s me and you in this hell
Erm. Ok. But maybe I’m reading too much into it?
There's a voice whispers in my ear
You arе less than you were last yеar
Nope. Dark. Who hasn’t had that voice whisper in their ear before. Maybe not saying that thing exactly, but self-flagellation has a tone. Where’s a cheerleader when you need one, amirite?
Well, if you were hoping it’s Side B’s, Track 2, “How Can I Love Her More?” maybe don’t read the lyrics. It’s not that they’re sad, it’s just the thoughts of someone not believing they’re good enough for love—of their lover. What does she want? She says she’s loves him, but methinks dude himself thinks she could do better than him. He doesn’t quite believe he’s worthy.
The weird thing is, the feel of the song (aren’t you proud, I didn’t say vibe), is pure jaunty pom-pom kick your legs positivity. I love it. I love singing the “I miiiissss you” bit. But there’s no getting around it: it’s a song about someone continually questioning if they’re good enough. Are you the right one for her? Could she do better? Dude. Believe in yourself, for goodness sake.
The next song, “Ember Days” is another great example of a sweet song with a possibly dark undercurrent. I mean…
When is it June for us
Those whose permanent place is a dark alley way?
And
Feed the hungry birds, their circling turning slowly into words
Oof. What does the vulture say?
Side B, Track 10, “Peppermint Roses,” what are you trying to do to me? Mixing your delightful vocal harmonies and jangly hooks with lyrical discombobulation? I mean, I am enjoying the shit out if, but I’ve been singing that “goodbye peppermint roses” line thinking it’s a lovely song about, I dunno, chocolates or something.
I just read the lyrics. Is this a song about death? It’s definitely about loss. Why is it so gosh-darned happy? My heart is giving you side eye. Or side valve?
Like height abandons gravity
I don’t know what it means, but I’m calling it out. It’s my favorite line in this song. Followed by this:
Happy lives come through God's animation
Love is no fun, it's just aggravation
The tonal shift—a purposeful and harmonious balance between Side A and Side B, perhaps?—continues with “I Should've Known Right From the Start” before wrapping up this 12-song nostalgia-infused romp with a sort of McCartney-ish-Wings “Helen Wheels”-style uplift: Side B’s, Track 6, “Rock On (Over and Over).” Maybe even a little Marc Bolan/T-Rex influence?
Whatever. We’re at the end. What a ride!
This is the happiness I needed this year. The tone can hide the message, but sometimes the message toast needs a little jam. And there’s a lot of jam here. Delicious, delicious lemony jam.
Dear reader, you deserve this record, just as you deserve happiness. And while no one owes it to you—that’s on you—records like this can help move it along.
Put it on.
Feel the vibes.
Realize.
The happiness was coming from inside the house the whole time.
Extra credit
About two years ago, Justin Hawkins reacted to The Lemon Twigs song “As Long as We’re Together” on his YouTube JHRA channel. It was the first time I’d ever heard of them. When I got a notification the The Lemon Twigs were playing in Felton—home of the Bigfoot Museum and a shortish drive from my house—the only reason I bought a ticket to that show was knowing who they were because of that episode. This was my first exposure to this band. So young.
Now I must confess I didn’t go to that show.
Shoes-off Janeen won out. What does that mean?
There are two versions of Janeen. Shoes on Janeen and Shoes off Janeen. If my shoes are off for the night, I don’t go out. I can’t be bothered. It takes a lot of effort to put shoes on. And that night in December 2023, Felton seemed so far away. I was on the couch. My shoes were off. That’s all I’ll say about it.
Except…
I’ve been kicking myself (with no shoes on) ever since.
Mary Oliver’s “Moments”
FINAL It’s the Vinyl Countdown List
In case you missed any, catch up on your reading and listening.
#5: “Confidenza” soundtrack by Thom Yorke
#4: “Romance” by Fontaines D.C.
#3: “A Dream is All We Know” by The Lemon Twigs
#2: “Mahashmashana” by Father John Misty
#1: TIE “Wall of Eyes” by The Smile and “TANGK” by IDLES
The Lemon Twigs have made a lot of lists this year!